Misdemeanors?

[Wesco]

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How bad of a blemish are a couple of stupid misdemeanors over 20 yrs ago on DO a application? The debt acquired and the misdemeanors are the only thing deterring me from even thinking about a future in medicine. Any comments on this will be greatly appreciated.

 

[jkmph]

How bad of a blemish are a couple of stupid misdemeanors over 20 yrs ago on DO a application? The debt acquired and the misdemeanors are the only thing deterring me from even thinking about a future in medicine. Any comments on this will be greatly appreciated.

I have an alcohol-related criminal misdemeanor (not OUI) on my record from before I turned 21. I explained it with a very rosy perspective on my application and it was never brought up during my interviews...

 

[JaggerPlate]

20 years ago ... shouldn't be a big deal. I guess it depends on what you did, but I'd be shocked if something from that long ago held you back. Best thing you can do though ... be honest about it. It's far, far worse to hide it and get called out than to explain you got caught drinking a beer in a backyard at 19.

 

[g1221]

How bad of a blemish are a couple of stupid misdemeanors over 20 yrs ago on DO a application? The debt acquired and the misdemeanors are the only thing deterring me from even thinking about a future in medicine. Any comments on this will be greatly appreciated.

Go to the government website for your state and you will find their rules on applying for expungement. As far as I know you are eligible for expungement of a misdemeanor 3 years after the incident. You shouldn't have to mention your conviction, provided that your incident is expunged.

I do believe that honesty is the best policy, BUT you shouldn't have to divulge anything that would destroy a first impression if you have paid your debt back to society and have had a judge agree that you are worthy of expungement.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

 

[Turd Furgeson]

nm

 

[Kerowyn]

Go to the government website for your state and you will find their rules on applying for expungement. As far as I know you are eligible for expungement of a misdemeanor 3 years after the incident. You shouldn't have to mention your conviction, provided that your incident is expunged.

I do believe that honesty is the best policy, BUT you shouldn't have to divulge anything that would destroy a first impression if you have paid your debt back to society and have had a judge agree that you are worthy of expungement.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

I wouldn't risk it. It's far better to be up front about minor incidents in the past than keep quiet and risk them thinking you're trying to hide something.

From the AACOMAS instructions:

Legal Actions
Osteopathic medical schools require you to answer this question honestly and provide all information.
Full disclosure will avoid any delay and/or distressing situation.
If you answer yes to the legal action question a new box will open for you to provide an explanation.
Many colleges will require criminal background checks for matriculation and progression in your
medical education. Failure to provide accurate information in answering this question will result in
an investigation. While a untruthful answer may not be discovered immediately, if it is discovered it
may be grounds for dismissal from medical school even after completion of several years of study.

 

[MightyMoose]

Go to the government website for your state and you will find their rules on applying for expungement. As far as I know you are eligible for expungement of a misdemeanor 3 years after the incident. You shouldn't have to mention your conviction, provided that your incident is expunged.

I do believe that honesty is the best policy, BUT you shouldn't have to divulge anything that would destroy a first impression if you have paid your debt back to society and have had a judge agree that you are worthy of expungement.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

I agree. I would drop the $100 and get a criminal background check on yourself to see if comes up, if not, don't list it. I think 7 years is the limit, but it could be 3, I don't know for sure. The point is not to test your honesty, but rather to determine if you might be prevented from practicing. If it's not on your record it won't prevent you from practicing and there is no reason to list it.

Here is the site AMCAS uses for background checks. You could order one from there.

https://www.applicationstation.com/home/home_as.asp

 

[melissaliss]

How bad of a blemish are a couple of stupid misdemeanors over 20 yrs ago on DO a application? The debt acquired and the misdemeanors are the only thing deterring me from even thinking about a future in medicine. Any comments on this will be greatly appreciated.

I also had an alcohol-related misdemeanor from when I was 20, not a DUI or anything serious even. Just possessing alcohol. I thought I explained it well on the application, but I was asked about it at every interview. Just be up front about it on the application. It has been a long time though, and you can try to get it expunged. There is no expungement in my state, however. Mine wasn't the kind of thing that would keep me from getting jobs or having rotations, (I can pass a background check ok), but I still think that adcoms might view it negatively, as far as your character goes. They don't know you, and that is just another tool they use to judge who you are.

 

[sedaniel]

I got an MIP (minor-in-possession) several years ago. When secondaries ask you to explain your misdemeanor, do you think that they want you to just state the misdemeanor and how it was resolved (i.e. I had a 6 month probation period)? Or do they expect us to explain how we "grew and learned from the experience" or whatever? I mean, it was 4 years ago so yeah, I've grown. lol

 

[melissaliss]

I got an MIP (minor-in-possession) several years ago. When secondaries ask you to explain your misdemeanor, do you think that they want you to just state the misdemeanor and how it was resolved (i.e. I had a 6 month probation period)? Or do they expect us to explain how we "grew and learned from the experience" or whatever? I mean, it was 4 years ago so yeah, I've grown. lol

Last year, I simply put the result, e.g. I paid a fine. This year (I'm re-applying), I am writing how I have grown from the experience. Totally up to you, but do be prepared to explain yourself in interviews. For the adcoms, they see it as immaturity and as a potentially red flag in an applicant. It's unfortunate really ... personally, I'm actually a really boring person who'd rather sit at home and watch a movie on a Friday night than go out and drink, but how do they know that? So just be prepared to suck it up and don't sound like you're making excuses. Take responsibility for it and tell them that you hope that they will be able to judge you based upon your merits, since this one transgression does not accurately portray who you are.